Social media erupted after fake posts claiming that Babar Azam announced his retirement from Test cricket went viral following the PAK v BAN Tests.
The right-handed batter faced heavy criticism after a poor performance in the recent Test series, where Bangladesh defeated Pakistan 2-0. As Pakistan struggled in the second and final Test against Bangladesh, several posts attributed to Babar began circulating on social media.
One viral post claimed that Babar, Pakistan’s white-ball captain, had announced his Test retirement, while another mocked his batting technique and stats after he was removed as Test captain.
However, it has been confirmed that parody accounts made these posts on the social media platform X. Babar Azam’s official X and Instagram accounts did not feature such announcements.
The first fake post was shared by an X account titled “Jay Shah (parody),” which falsely announced Babar’s retirement from Test cricket. Another misleading post came from an account named “Babar Azam—Parody,” making it clear that these were not official statements from the star Pakistani batter.
It’s worth noting that Babar scored only 64 runs in four innings during the two-match Test series, averaging 16. He was dismissed for a duck in the first inning of the opening Test and managed 22 runs in the second inning. In the second Test, he scored 31 runs in the first inning and 11 in the second.
Babar Azam has been under pressure lately, scoring only 317 runs in eight Test matches in 2023, with a top score of 41. His last century in Test cricket was against New Zealand in Karachi in December 2022.
